Kwanzaa Celebration

Join us at the Gantt Center for a day of hands-on art, performances and conversations about wellness and liberation which celebrate the principles of Kwanzaa. Create Kwanzaa keepsakes, sample local sweets and shop with some of Charlotte’s businesses of color in our Museum store.

Event Schedule

10 am - 5 pm
Galleries open

10 am - 5 pm
Community Coloring

11 am, 1 pm & 4 pm
Guided Tours

12 noon - 1 pm
Hands-On Art Workshop with Dulce Tavares

Create your own Kwanzaa candle display! For this drop-in art activity, learn about the seven symbolic meanings of the Kwanzaa candles by designing a traditional Kinara with your own creative twist.

12 noon - 2 pm
Rest as a Healing Place with Kelley Palmer

Rest as a Healing Place is an interactive educational session to share the causes, cues and pathways to healing from race-based traumatic stress injuries through yoga, meditation and mindfulness. The session includes:

• Facilitated group dialogue
• Guided meditation
• Seated or floor restorative yoga practice

12:30 pm
Performance: Dance Rhythm Cheer (DRC) Diamonds

2 pm - 4 pm
Drums 4 Life: Drum Circle

3 pm - 5 pm
Design Your Dream Vision Boarding with Quintel "Quin" Gwinn

Design Your Dream is a workshop will help participants cast their life's vision in a unique and fun way! Participants will be guided through a hands-on creative process which will inspire them to set intentions for all areas of life. All supplies and materials needed to create vision boards will be provided.

Kwanzaa is an African-American and Pan-African holiday celebrated by millions throughout the world. It was created to introduce and reinforce seven basic values of African culture which contribute to building and reinforcing family, community and culture among African-Americans and those of African-descent. These values are called the Nguzo Saba which in Swahili means the Seven Principles. Developed by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966, the Nguzo Saba stand at the heart of the origin and meaning of Kwanzaa. These values serve as building blocks for the community, as well as effective tools needed to sustain and strengthen the community.